Skilling’s sentence reduced to 14 years

Skilling—the former CEO of Enron Corp. who was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2006 for conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors—reached an agreement with the Department of Justice last month to trim his lengthy sentence to 14 years. A district judge approved the terms of a deal last week, which means Skilling, who has already spent six and a half years behind bars, could walk free as soon as 2017.

In exchange for the shorter sentence, Skilling will forfeit $54 million, drop his bid for a new trial, and end litigation over his conviction and sentence.

Before announcing his approval of the shortened sentence, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake III praised Skilling for the “positive impact” he has made on his fellow prison inmates. Skilling has been tutoring Spanish-speaking inmates after he learned the language himself while in jail; he also has taught business classes and set up job fairs to teach inmates how to write resumes and how to interview well.